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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is known for its unique and evolving storylines. One can watch any episode starting from season 3 to enjoy quick and witty fights between stand users as every episode seems to have its own antagonist. Thus, Hirohiko Araki's magnum opus is popular today thanks to its versatile and ever-changing style.
However, Araki decided to redirect his work in an entirely different direction with the seventh part of the series. Fans of the series expected another protagonist with the blood of the Joestars, but the mangaka decided to shift his focus to a different universe altogether.
So follow along as this article tries to debunk why Hirohiko Araki decided to shift his focus to a different universe after JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.
Why Araki decided to reset JoJo's Bizarre Adventure after Stone Ocean
The world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Hirohiko Araki is famous for his genre-bending story and incredible art style. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure may sometimes get too tough to follow for these reasons, which is why the versatility of this franchise is enough to baffle fans who are new to the series. The anime showcases different time periods and goes even deeper to change the whole genre while somehow being true to its shonen roots.
Even after such a long and diverse journey throughout generations, one can still perceive a strange sense of familiarity in every part of JoJo. While one part features the protagonist traveling the world and meeting new people, another part involves life in prison. This feat singlehandedly sets Araki apart from other shonen mangakas of his generation.
The first six parts of the series involve the Joestar family lineage and their adventures. Generation gaps play a huge part here as the anime starts with a story set in the late 19th century, and the following parts showcase relatively modern life. However, they are connected by complex bloodlines and family genes.
Surprisingly, the seventh part features the reimagined story of Jonathan Joestar along with key characters like Dio Brando and members of the Zeppeli family. This immense change may become difficult for readers to grasp, but the seventh part should not be regarded as a continuation of the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and not a reboot.
Hirohiko Araki's realisation
Forgoing 17 years worth of hard work and world-building must have been a difficult choice, but even a creative genius like Hirohiko Araki has his limits. While he worked on Stone Ocean, the future of his beloved series was unclear to him for the first time. It escalated to the point where Araki even considered ending the series for good. A quote from the author's afterword from the first volume of the Bunkoban version of Stone Ocean reads:
"I felt like I had reached the peak of my creativity, as an author I had drawn everything my capabilities allowed."
Araki admitted to being satisfied with his work and wholeheartedly believed that he had nothing more left to offer while writing the end of Stone Ocean. However, he didn't want Stone Ocean to be the end of his legacy. He wanted to revisit JoJo's roots and reconnect his characters with nature. This gave birth to Steel Ball Run, the seventh part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
This also made Araki cautious as he was walking on thin ice. Every part of his series has that familiar vibe, which the fans know and love, and he had to incorporate that same feeling into his new work to ensure its success. He cleared up this hindrance marvelously as the seventh part wasn't classified as a reboot but showcased the unique art style and familiarity of the original series.
Thus, he crafted the genius ending of Stone Ocean to support the nature of his new work further. By freeing Jolyne from the curse of her bloodline and the constant pressure to fight, Araki wanted to portray the peak of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The satisfying conclusion to a century-long battle between good and evil was finally here for fans of the series.
Final Thoughts
Hirohiko Araki's genius idea of rebooting the series comes with its own set of perks, which includes incorporating past stands and their users into the reboot but with noticeable changes. Loyal readers of the manga will recognize the Easter egg, as it will also bring more attention to the future of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as familiar faces enjoy a sense of goodwill.
However, Araki likes to keep it subtle as he didn't even use the fame and influence of his previous work when Steel Ball Run was released. The iconic title of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" was removed from the front page of the manga when it was released. In the author's notes, Araki briefly mentioned that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is entering a parallel world, which means it's no longer JoJo, but rather it's Steel Ball Run.
